[user66118]
Welcome back to the final day of Event #55! Nine players will return today for the Deuce to Seven action, and a few hours from now, just one will be left standing.
We started in the Brasilia Room on Day 1 before moving further down the hall to the Miranda Room yesterday. Today finds us once again relocating, this time to the green section of the Amazon Room. The nine chip bags are out on the tables, and the staff is busy making the final preparations to the tournament area.
We're set up for a 2:00pm start time, and there's no reason to believe we'll be delayed at all. Join us back here in 20 minutes for the shuffle up and deal.
[user66118]
...And just as we get started, it's time for the daily bracelet ceremony. The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Champion, David Bach, will be among those receiving bracelets today on the podium. We'll be holding the action for about 10 minutes for the presentation and the anthem(s).
[user66118]
Well, you can't fault the guy for being in bed. David Bach didn't make the bracelet ceremony today, and chances are good he's just now getting to sleep. Bach did indeed win the H.O.R.S.E. event this morning, but play didn't wrap up until about 10am. We did get the U.S. and German National Anthems though. It looks like Bach will be on the podium to receive his bracelet and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy on July 3rd.
[user66118]
Nam Le raised from the button, and both Masayoshi Tanaka and Brad Libson called from the blinds. On the first draw, Libson took one card and bet, wihle Tanaka and Le drew two and they both called.
On the second round, Tanaka was the only man drawing two, while Libson and Le took one apiece. The betting checked to the button this time, and Le made a bet which got two callers.
Tanaka and Libson wanted one more card while Le stood pat, and the action checked around. Libson showed down the winner with 8-7-6-3-2, earning the first significant pot of Day 3.
[user66118]
Nam Le - 9th Place
Nam Le is out after two consecutive bad pots for him. In the first one, Le was the pre-draw raiser, and Masayoshi Tanaka three-bet him from the button. Le took three cards to Tanaka's one before calling a bet.
On the second draw, Le was down to drawing two, but Tanaka patted and bet again. That was enough to fold Le, leaving him with 11,000 chips.
*****
On the next hand, Hertzel Zalewski limped in from the small blind, and Le took a free draw from the big. Both men took three cards, and Zalewski bet out. Le had just 3,000 chips left, and he called all in. He would draw two-one on the last two rounds, and Zalewski drew one time before patting on the last draw.
Le showed 5-4-3-2 before drawing an ugly king at the end. Zalewski had patted his T-9-8-4-2, and it was the winner. With that, the short-stack ninja Nam Le has finally been put out of his misery, exiting in 9th place.
[user66118]
Hertzel Zalewski (in an earlier event) - 8th Place
With Le's knockout, there was just a single big blind for this hand. Brad Libson raised it up, and Hertzel Zalewski and Julie Schneider came along with him. Libson drew one while his opponents traded two cards. He bet and got both opponents to call.
On the second round, each player drew one before Libson made another bet. Zalewski put in a raise, Schneider folded, and Libson called the extra bet.
On the final draw, both Libson and Zalewski stood pat, and the former check-called a bet from Zalewski. Both men said, "Eighy-six," nearly simultaneously. Libson showed down the winner though, tabling 8-6-5-3-2. That loss knocked Zalewski down to just 22,000
*****
On the next hand, Zalewski raised first in, and Masayoshi Tanaka made it three bets. Brad Libson called, as did Zalewski, whose call put him all in and at risk. The betting rounds were pretty uneventful, and Zalewski would draw two cards the whole way. After patting on the last round, Libson tabled 9-8-7-5-3, good enough to win the pot and eliminate Hertzel Zalewski in 8th place. He'll get a pay bump up to just about $18,000 for his efforts.
[user66118]
The remaining seven players have been re-combined into one unofficial final table. Since they're seven handed, the player to the left of the big blind will sit out on each deal. We'll play on for one more knockout before we pack up and move over to the featured table. Here's how the table is set up:
![[user22113]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
